Ribbon vibrating mechanism for typewriting and like machines



H. BETZ RIBBON VIBRATING MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITING AND LIKE MACHINES Feb. 13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 16, 1948 T. 8 rr.

mN M M 0 W R A E H Feb. 13, 1951 y H. BETZ 2,541,191

RIBBON VIBRATING MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed April 1s, 1.948

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TO R. HmMA/v BU'Z ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 13, 1951 RIBBON'VIERATING MEGHANISM FOR TYPEVJRITING AND LIKE MACHINE S Herman Bets Wethersfield, .Cnn., assignor to Underwood Corporation, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of Delaware Application April 16, 194:8,Seiial No. 21,484

Claims. 1 This invention relates -to ribbon vibrating mechanisms-of typewriting and the like machines.

and-to the control devices thereof forselecting.

the -ribbon color band and for disabling the vibrator to facilitate stencil typing.

Anobject ofthe invention is to provide an improved ribbon vibrating mechanism. having a control device settable to eachof the usual con trol. positions by simple substantially uniform manipulations .of the control element and in which. the unintentional setting at the.stencil position. is practically eliminated by enabling selection of eithercolor band without the necessity of moving the Selector element through a middle or stencil position.

The present invention is in the nature of an improvement on the ribbonvibrator mechanism described and claimed in the Newberry Patent No.2;346,323, issued April 11, 1944. The vibrator mechanism and control device or" this patent also provides for selecting either color band without moving the control element through the stencil position. This is accomplished in the mechanism of said patent by restricting the rotative'or angular positioning of the control element to only the two color-band selections and by requiring movement of the control element axially in order to effect the stencil selection.

It is generally preferable to effect selectionoi any of the three ribbon-control settings by moving the control element in either lineal or arcuate direction for all selections.

Accordinglma further object of this invention is to provide a ribbon vibrator mechanism of the hind shown in said Newberry patent which, however, enables the selection of any of the threeccntrcl settings by a substantially similar movement of the control element to and from the three positions required.

In its more specific aspect,'the invention pro vides" an "improved selectively settable ribbon vibrator mechanism in which the control element thereof may be moved from one to another adjacent'angularposition to select either color band and may be moved to a third angular position, beyond the range of control movement for the color bands, to eifect disabling of the vibrator Figure 2 is aside elevational viewot-the-mecha iii) nism, the same being taken on a fore-and-aft plane'of the typewriter just to the right of saidmechanism,

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged, fragmentary views of a portion of the ribbon vibrator mechanism in the different conditions of the mechanism determined by the three settings of the control device thereof, being respectively for blue, red and stencil, in the order given,

Figure 6 is an enlarged elevational view of the cletent device formingpart of the control means, thesamebeing a view as taken on. line 5-5 of Figure 2, and.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the control element and associated indicia for selecting the three settings of the vibrator mechanism.

The ribbon vibrating mechanism of this invention is actuated by the usual means including a universal bar engageable by each type kcylever and having an operative connection to an actuatorby which, through the medium of :a variably settable control means and associated operating mechanism, the ribbon guide at the-typing point is raised one or another extent for either red or blue typing or remains inactive for stenciling.

Referring to Figules 1 and 2 a keylever 8 typical of all the typekeylevers of the typewriter, is fulcrunied on a pivot bar ii and is adapted to en gage and actuate a universal bar I ii mounted to rock on trunnions H. A link i2 transmits the rocking motion of the universal bar to a lever l 3, also pivoted on thebar 9, lever it being articulated to a vertically reciprocatory actuator M. After being depressed, the keylever 8 and the associated action is restored by the" usual spring means not shown. A sprirr it serves to restore the universal bar and the train of mecha-- nism' inciudingLtheactuator it to its ouiescent 1 position. From its connection to lever 13, the

actuator M extends upwardly, its upper end being forked for sliding engagement with an eiem l 5 forming part of a selectivecontro mechanism hereinafter described.

Whenthe control mechanism is set for one or the. other color. band as shownrespectively in Figures wand i, the actuator It is positioned to engage one: or the other of two pins ii and i8 mountea on an actuating lever 28. The actuator it has two slots which engage one or theother of themins i i: or is depending on the lateral osietionofithelactuator as determine by the control mechanism, ably mounted in a bracket 2i by means includin a 'shaiiti journaled in the bracket. "arm 23 is secured near the left end to shaft 22, an end portion of which fits into an opening in lever A. screw 2d extends through a slot in lever 29 and is threaded-into said arm to clamp thelever in adjusted position toarm 23,.seeFigure3. To the" later described. The lever 21'; is rock- 3 other end of shaft 22 and arm 25 is secured, which at its free end has a lateral extension 26, Figure 2, providing an ear to which a link 2'! is flexibly connected.

Link 27 transmits the rocking motion of lever 20 to a ribbon carrier or ribbon guide 39, Figure 1, adapted to be shifted upwardly to present one or the other ribbon color band to the typing line. The mechanism for vertically shifting ribbon guide 353 includes two equalizing levers SI and 32, each articulated intermediate its ends to the ribbon guide at pivots 33 and 34. Levers SI, 32 are flexibly joined at 35 and are pivotally mounted at 36, 3?, respectively, on a member 38 of the typewriter mainframe. The. lengths of the corresponding portions of the two levers 3 i, 32 are proportional to each other so that as the lever 3| is actuated to raise the pivot 33 of the ribbon guide, lever 32 causes pivot 35 to be raised an equal amount, thus causing the ribbon guide 33 to move upwardly in a parallel or rectilinear motion.

Lever 3i takes the form of a bell crank, and has an arm 55 flexibly joined to link 2?, A spring il tends to pull link 2? rightwardly as limited by a stop 52 on the link engaging the typewriter mainframe. Stop 52 limits the return movement of levers SI, 32 and thus determines the quiescent or lower position of the ribbon guide 39. The pivot 25% for lever 3! may be made position-adjustable horizontally on member Sit as shown to vary the quiescent position of the ribbon guide.

The mechanism thus far described, for vibrating the ribbon guide as U present one or the other of the ribbon color bands to the typing point upon operating any type keylever 8, is substantially as shown and described in said Newberry Patent No. 2,346,323. sides in the'combination with the aforedescribed ribbon vibrating mechanism, of the improved means now to be described for controlling or regulating the throw of the ribbon vibrator mechanisrn,.to effect ribbon color-band selection, and for disabling said mechanism so that no movement of the ribbon guide is had, as required in stencil typing. 7

The selective control mechanism comprises a rockable shaft i l, Figure 2, journaled in a bracket J projecting through a front panel of the typewriter casingand having a selector knob 46 secured thereto. As shown in Figure '7, this knob has a pointer cooperative with suitable indicia on the casing to guide the typist in setting the control mechanism for the desired color band or for stenciling. The selective control shaft it may be rocked to any one of three positions for determining the color band or stencil operations. It will be noted that the two color-band positions are adjacent each other and that the third position for stenciling is outside the range of angular movement required to select either color band.

The three rotative positions of control shaft M are determined by a detent mechanism shown best in Figure 6. This mechanism includes a detent arm ii secured to shaft ii at a point adjacen a rightward member 38 of bracket d5. A notched detent lever. is pivoted at 5| on the bracket member 68 and has a spring 52 tending to swing lever 5t counterclockwise or toward detent arm 4?, as viewed in Figure 6. Lever 58 pro- The present invention re-' notches impart a relatively light resistance to rotation of shaft Ml between the two color-banddetermining positions. The detent edge issuing from notch 54 toward notch 55, being somewhat closer to the pivot 5! and being also of a greater degree of incline than the adjacent edges defining notches 53 and 54, imparts a noticeably greater resistance when moving the shaft 44 to the stenciling position. Thus, the chance of unintentionally setting shaft 44, at stencil position when selection of either color band is desired, is minimized. The two extreme edges adjacent notches 53 and 55 form stops to limit the swing of control shaft 44 to within the range of the three control settings.

On the end of control shaft M beyond bracket member 48, a crank arm 58 of circular outline is secured. A stud or crank pin 58 providing the mentioned element It projects from the crank arm with its axis eccentric to shaft id. Stud 59 has a collar 66) between which, and the crank arm 58, the forked upper end of actuator M slides, being thereby guided against fore-and-aft displacement; As viewed in Figure 2, the collar 60 is in a plane just to the left of lever 26. Rightward of the collar, stud 59 provides a pin 6! which projects through a large opening 62 in lever 29.

The mentioned pin it is shiftably mounted on lever 28 by a pin carrier or arm 6 pivoted at on the lever. A spring 55 urges the carrier rightward as limited by a stop lug 61 on the carrier engaging an edge of lever 23. It may be here noted that the collar 6!! on the eccentric stud 59 is in the same plane as the pin carrier 64 and cooperates therewith for the purpose .later described.

Referring particularly to Figures 3 and 4, the setting of the control mechanism for either color band, and the operation of the ribbonvibrator mechanism under each setting, will now be described. It should be noted that as the control knob 46 is moved to select either the blue or red color bands, the resultant rocking of shaft 54 swings the stud as equidistantly from one to the other side of a vertical centerline through the shaft 44. In the blue setting, Figure 3, the stud 59 is leftward of this centerline and in the red setting, Figure 4, it is rightward of the centerline. Since the portion 55 of stud 59 slidably fits the slot in the forked end of actuator H3, said actuator will be correspondingly shifted to opposite sides of saidcenterline and will thus be brought into engagement with either the pin H,

Figure 4, or the pin [8, Figure 3. In considering,

the operation of the ribbon vibrator mechanism under these two settings, it should be observed that the two pins ii and i8 withwhich the actuator i6 is selectively engageable, are at different distances on the lever 2% from the center of oscillation 22 thereof. Therefore, although the actuator I i is pulled down a substantially uniform extent upon each operation of a type key, the throw imparted to lever 26 is of lesser extent when engaged with pin I 8 than with pin 51. With the control device set for red and with the actuator i 6 therefore engaged with pin H, the lowering of the actuator will rock lever 2i) a degree-such as to cause the ribbon guide 3i), Figure l, to be raised greater extent so that the lower, blue color band will be presented at the typing line.

In the operations of the vibrator mechanism under the setting for either color band, the rocking of lever 29 is transmitted to the ribbon guide 30 by the link and leverage mechanism shown in Figure l, as previously described. Upon release of the then actuated type keylever, spring l5 restores the universal bar and the associated mechanism including actuator I4 to inactive position, and spring 4| restores lever 29 and the associated leverage mechanism 27-32 to its inactive position as determined by stop 42.

The setting of the control device for stencilling and its effect on the ribbon vibrator mechanism will now be described. In moving the control knob 5 to the stencil position, the control shaft 54 is rotated in a clockwise direction to move the stud 59 from either its Figure 4 or its Figure 3 position, and to the Figure 5 position. That is to say, as the control device is moved to the stencil position, the eccentric stud 59 is either at or moving from the Figure 3 setting. As the shaft it approaches the Figure 5 position, the collar 68 on stud 59, comes into engagement with the rightward edge of pin carrier 66 and thereby cams the pin carrier leftwardly against the tension of spring 66 thus withdrawing pin l8 free of actuator i4. Thus, during type key operations for typing a stencil, the actuator H5 is drawn down and raised in an idle motion without having any effect on the lever 20 or the ribbon guide 3t, and the ribbon remains inactive as desired for stencilling.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ribbon vibrating mechanism for typewriters, a ribbon carrier movable to present different ribbon color bands to the typing line, an actuating lever operatively connected to raid ribbon carrier, and an actuator operable by the typing instrumentalities, said lever having two elements at different distances from the lever fulcrum, said actuator being alternately positionable to establish driving connections with either of the two elements of said lever, one of said elements being movably mounted on said lever to enable disengagement of that element from the actuator with the actuator in a position out of engagement with the other element of the lever.

2. In a ribbon vibrating mechanism for typewriters, a ribbon carrier movable to present different ribbon color bands to the typing line, an actuating lever operatively connected to said ribbon carrier, an actuator operable by the typing instrumentalities, said lever having two actuator engageable elements at different distances from the lever fulcrum, said actuator being alternately positionable to establish driving engagement with either of the two said lever elements, a control device to alternately position said actuator, one of said lever elements being movable relatively to said lever, and means operable by said control device, in moving beyond its position in which the movable element is actuator engaged, to move said element out of actuator engagement.

3. In a ribbon vibrating mechanism for typewriters, a ribbon carrier movable to present different ribbon color bands to the typing line, an actuating lever operatively connected to said ribbon carrier, an actuator operable by the typing instrumentalities, said actuating lever having two actuator-engageable elements at diiferent distances from the lever fulcrum, said actuator being shiftable in a plane to engage selectively one or the other of said elements, a control member engaging said actuator and movable between two positions to shift said actuator for engagement alternatively with the lever elements, and means mounting one of said lever elements for movement relatively to said lever, said control member being adapted to coast with said mounting means upon movement of said member to a third position, to move said movable element free of engagement with said actuator.

4. In a ribbon vibrating mechanism for typewriters, a ribbon carrier movable to present either of two ribbon color bands to the typing line, an actuating lever operatively connected to said ribbon carrier, an actuator operable by the typing instrumentalities, said actuating lever having two actuator-engageable elements at different distances from the lever fulcrum, said actuator being shiftable in a plane parallel to said lever to engage selectively one or the other of said elements, a control member having a crank engaging said actuator and being rotatable between two angular positions to shift said actuator for engagement alternatively with the lever elements, and means mounting one of said lever elements for movement relatively to said lever, said control member crank being adapted to coact with said mounting means upon rotating said control member to a third angular position, to move said element free of engagement with said actuator.

5. In a ribbon vibrating mechanism for typewriters, a ribbon carrier movable to present either of two ribbon color bands to the typing line, an actuating lever operatively connected to said ribbon carrier, an actuator operable by the typing instrumentalities, said actuating lever having a first actuator-engageable element at a given distance from the lever fulcrum and a second actuator-engageable element at a greater distance from the lever fulcrum, said actuator being shiftable in a plane parallel to said lever to engage selectively the first or the second lever elements, a control member having a crank engaging said actuator and being rotatable between two angular positions to shift said actuator for engagement alternatively with the two said lever elements, and an arm mountingsaid second lever element for movement relatively to said lever, said control member crank being adapted to coact with said arm, upon rotating the control member from the position determining the actuator-engagement with the second lever element to a third angular position, to move said second element free of engagement with said actuator.

' HERMAN BETZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 946,359 Hess Jan. 11, 1910 1,820,066 Handley Aug. 25, 1931 1,834,522 Helmond Dec. 1, 1931 2,346,323 Newberry Apr. 11, 1944 

